


Shadows in the Night

by Squid_Ink



Series: The Eagle and the Cross [36]
Category: Assassin's Creed
Genre: Gen, Gift Fic, I'm not sure about the ending, an angry bear - Freeform, but oh well
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-02
Updated: 2016-06-02
Packaged: 2018-07-11 21:43:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,891
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7071589
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Squid_Ink/pseuds/Squid_Ink
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Injured while saving a trio of children from an angry bear, Connor is saved by his father, Haytham.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Shadows in the Night

Connor didn't think when he heard the screams of the children. He rushed towards them, scrambling up into the tree to avoid being bogged down in the snow. He spotted them, pressed up against a large rock, the angry brown bear roaring at them. Connor assessed the situation, noting that the boy was protecting his two sisters. Connor flicked out his wrist blade, swiveling it to wield it as a knife, pulled free his tomahawk and with a savage war cry, Connor leapt down between the children and the bear.

The animal spooked, taking a step back, before roaring and swiping at Connor who ducked. "Run!" he shouted to the three children, using his tomahawk to block a swipe from the bear.

"Are you…" the boy began, but stopped when the bear roared again and his sisters squealed in terror. Connor was getting annoyed with the children for not running when he told them. He blocked another swipe from the bear and rushed in, stabbing it in the chest. He fought bears before and they were difficult to bring down. The bear roared in pain and anger. Connor rolled away, exposing the children.

"No!" Connor shouted, slashing the bear with his tomahawk. The sudden pain drew the animal's attention back to him. "Run! Run now!" he shouted to the children. The bear swiped at him again before lunging and snapping its jaws. Connor ducked out of the way; the youngest girl squeaked in fear. The bear looked in her direction. "Go!" Connor shouted. The children finally left and Connor made the mistake in watching them flee, thus he failed to notice the bear's incoming swipe.

It was a sharp pain, the bears claws slicing through his robes and flesh. Hot blood gushed and oozed down his side and Connor went flying, tumbling down the slope, leaving a trail of red in his wake. Connor thudded against a tree trunk, grunting in pain. He knew he had a few crack ribs; bears hit hard. Connor sheathed his swivel hidden blade and his tomahawk. He flexed his ankles, they weren't broken. Slowly, he got to his feet, only to gasp in pain, hand going to his wound. "Shelter," Connor whispered, looking about trying to find which way lay Boston. He picked a point and began to walk in that direction.

* * *

 

Haytham stopped when he saw the prone body lying in the snow. It took him a moment to spot the deep blue on the hem of the white robes, but once seen he couldn't mistake them for anything other than assassin robes… his _son's_ assassin robes.

Haytham spurred his horse towards Connor's body, before dismounting in a heap. Ever since learning of Ziio's death, he's been… concerned, for Connor's well-being. He disliked how the boy always pushed himself, and he wanted to remind Connor several times that he needed to rest. He felt it wasn't his place to chide Connor, considering he hadn't been in his son's life for twenty years.

Haytham rolled Connor over onto his back and pressed his ear against the boy's face, there was a faint whisper of breath. Connor was still alive, but he felt cold and there was a large telling red stain on his side. "Dear God," Haytham muttered, wondering what exactly his son had been up to. He wormed his arms beneath Connor's shoulders and legs and tried to stand. His eyes bugged out in surprise at Connor's weight, and it took him several attempts before he was able to get onto his feet. He staggered backward, taking a step back, finding a patch of well packed snow and slid back a bit further. "My back!" Haytham cried out, when his back tweaked in a manner that it wasn't supposed to.

Staggering, Haytham flopped Connor over the shoulders of his horse like a sack of potatoes. He stretched his back out, he was getting too old for this, before mounting up and riding into the nearby frontier town. Once there, finding an inn with a spare room was easy enough, money wasn't an issue and giving the innkeeper a few more to keep his mouth shut and his eyes adverted was an easy price for Haytham to pay. The innkeeper even pointed Haytham in the direction of a doctor. Haytham thanked the man, even shocked when the innkeeper told his son to help Haytham get the wounded and unconscious Connor off the horse and into the room. Haytham left the young man to the task and went in search of the doctor.

* * *

 

Connor slowly open his eyes, greeted by the single flame of a candle and the comfort of a mattress. He wasn't fully dressed and there were crisp white bandages around his torso. His hidden blades were removed and he suddenly felt extremely vulnerable. He was the only one in the room. Connor sat up slowly, trying to remember what happened after the bear attack. He remembered walking towards Boston, or at least he thought it was Boston, then he fell in the snow and passed out.

Connor looked about the room, wondering how he got here. His robes and shirt where on a chair while the other chair held a familiar coat, it's companion tricorn resting on the table nearby. Connor ground his teeth, before standing, hand going to the wound. He crossed over to the chair with his clothes and found his wrist blades, slipping them on as the door opened. He flicked his wrist blades free.

Haytham walked in, looking smaller without his coat. Connor tensed at the sight of his father. "What are you doing out of bed?" Haytham hissed, setting the tray of food on the table. He walked over to Connor, but Connor held his wrists blades, taking a step back. "Is that any way to greet your father? Especially, after he saved your life?" Haytham asked.

Connor lowered his arms, slowly. "You saved my life?" he asked. "Why?"

Haytham didn't answer that. Instead he turned and went back to the little table before sitting down. "I brought you some stew, eat it before it gets cold." Connor watched Haytham for a few moments, before sheathing his wrist blades and pulling on his shirt. He went to the bed and sat down, accepting the bowl of stew but not touching it. "I didn't poison it," Haytham added curtly, when he noticed Connor wasn't eating.

"You have not answered my question… Father," Connor said. It sounded strange to call this man father, when for so long he felt like he never had one. Even Achilles didn't really count, though he was closer to being a father than Haytham Kenway ever would be, yet…

Yet, Connor still felt a tug of kinship towards this man, Templar Grand Master or not. He poked at his stew before eating it, content to let his father keep his silence. "How did you manage to injure yourself, though?" Haytham asked, not liking the pregnant silence. Connor looked up and then gave a little shrug.

"I saw some children cornered by an angry bear. I fought the bear, allowing them to escape. I made the mistake of taking my eyes off the animal, and its attack connected," Connor said. He hoped the children managed to make it home okay.

"A bear," Haytham muttered, "your mother saved me from a bear once." Connor sucked in a breath, a bit of carrot going down his throat too quickly. He coughed violently for a few moments, feeling his father's eyes on him. "Are you alright?" Haytham asked. Connor gasped for breath, nodding. "Good."

"My mother saved you from a bear?" he asked, he never heard his mother tell this story. Then again, she rarely spoke of his father. She'd always get a sad look on her face whenever he asked. "She never told me."

"She didn't? I figured she would, it was one of our more… amusing adventurers," Haytham said, smiling fondly as he recalled the memory. "I was gathering wood for the fire when I wandered too far from camp and stumbled upon a bear. I ran, forgetting myself, and… slipped and fell. Your mother came and drove the bear off before helping me up." Haytham said, his cheeks tinting pink a little bit.

"I see," Connor said, trying to imagine his father, who he never took for a coward, running from a bear.

"Did she… did she ever talk to you about me?" Haytham asked, sounding a bit hesitant. He pushed the food around in his bowl.

"No," Connor muttered, "there was this one time when I built a snowman and said it was my father. She brought a tricorn hat and put it on the snowman, then said it was my father. We played together with it, but _Ista_ … Mother, seemed sad. The spring before she died, there was some white men passing by the village, she went to go see and came back dejected. When I asked why she was sad she kissed my forehead and smoothed my hair."

"She was looking for me?" Haytham asked. "She missed me?" Connor nodded. Haytham blinked, looking away, unable to look at Connor's face. It looked too much like Ziio. "I should've realized it sooner," Haytham muttered.

"Realized what?" Connor asked. Haytham didn't answer, he simply gave Connor a sad, lonely smile.

"I saved you," Haytham said, changing the subject, "because you are my son. Think what you want of me, but I'm not completely heartless. I would never let my own child die from exsanguination in the snow."

"You are still a Templar."

"And _you're_ an assassin," Haytham said, "yet _I_ can look past that trivial detail and see you for what you truly are, my son. Obviously you can't see past it and only see me as your enemy."

Connor hunched his shoulders, defensive. He opened his mouth to reply but closed it, realizing that his father's words had a grain of truth to them. "I do not."

"You were ready to gut me when I came in."

"I did not know what was going on, I thought I had been captured."

"Oh, please," Haytham said with an eye roll, "any fool could comprehend what was going on. Has Achilles truly blinded you so thoroughly that you can't even see pass our different alliances and see me as your father?"

"Father, I…"

"You are my son, and it means something… to me," Haytham said. "Now," Haytham stood up and pulled on his coat, "get some rest, I'll be back to check on you in the morning."

"Father," Connor called out as Haytham opened the door. "Stay," Connor said.

"Stay? You want me to stay?"

"Yes," Connor said, "stay and tell me about my mother. How did you meet her? Did you love her?"

Haytham sighed, unable to look at his child. "Of course I did son," he whispered, "I loved her with all my heart. She was my greatest treasure, more valuable than any precursor sight in the world, and I let her slip through my fingers because I was too blind to see the truth." Haytham closed the door and took his coat off again. He sat back down and rested his elbows on his knees, looking at his son as he clasped his hands. Haytham said, "Let me tell you about your mother." 

**Author's Note:**

> Assassin's Creed (c) Ubisoft
> 
> My cat Nikki likes laser toys. 
> 
> Save an author; leave a review and kudos


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